The present invention is related to the art of accessories used with pickup truck beds and, more particularly, to a portable tie-down apparatus having connection eyelets carried on a pair of cooperating plate members that are selectively clampable together for quick connection of the tie-down apparatus onto a structural flange formed around the perimeter of standard pickup truck beds.
Many vehicle manufacturers offer integral eyelets or connection tabs in the beds of their pickup truck vehicles. These connectors have proven useful as attachment points for ropes, chains, straps, or the like to hold cargo securely in place within the bed. Typically, the connectors provided by original equipment manufacturers are molded integrally with the pickup truck bed by welding them in place or by stamping eyelet holes in structural members. Further, they are normally located only at the extreme four corners of the bed.
One disadvantage of connectors of the type described above, however, is that they are not readily movable from their pre-installed positions. Rather, as noted above, the connectors supplied by the original equipment manufacturers are permanently fixed in their pre-established positions in the bed, typically in the four corners.
Other more portable connectors have been proposed, including stake bed pocket tie-down connectors. In those systems, the connectors typically include a main body formed of a resilient material, such as rubber, and an eyelet connected to one end of the body. In use, the resilient rubber body portion is inserted into the pickup truck stake pockets whereupon it is expanded using a nut and a bolt to compress or xe2x80x9csqueezexe2x80x9d the rubberized main body within the pocket. This holds the main body, and in turn the connection eyelet, in place.
One disadvantage of connectors usable with stake pockets of the type noted is they are distinctly limited in where they can be used along truck bed top rails. In that regard, most full size pickup trucks have only three stake bed pockets on the driver""s side rail and three pockets on the passenger""s side. Therefore, these connectors are only usable at three predefined locations on each side of the vehicle.
Another disadvantage of the stake bed pocket type connectors is that they interfere with the use of other useful pickup truck accessories such as tonneau covers, truck caps, and the like. Although the main rubberized body of this type connector is received completely within the stake pockets and below the bed rail, the eyelet portions thereof protrude upwardly beyond the horizontal plane defined by the structural flange formed along the perimeter of most pickup truck beds.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a portable tie-down apparatus of the type that is useful in pickup truck bed applications. Preferably, the tie-down apparatus would not be limited for use at only a small number of predefined locations but, rather, would be usable along substantially the entire structural flange area around the full extent of the truck bed perimeter.
It would further be desirable to provide a portable tie-down apparatus that does not interfere with the use of tonneau covers, truck caps, or other accessory items that require unimpeded access to the top rail along the entire perimeter of the truck bed.
It would be still further desirable to provide a portable tie down apparatus that, in an alternative embodiment, is usable with truck caps to secure the cap onto the truck bed and simultaneously provide tie down connections such as eyelets or hooks for securing cargo within the truck bed.
The present invention, therefore, provides a portable tie-down apparatus for use with pickup truck beds that is easy to use and solves the problems identified above and others.
In accordance with the present invention, a pair of cooperating clamping plate members are held together by a set of bolt fasteners. Preferably, one of the cooperating clamping plate members includes a set of threaded holes and the other is provided with a set of clearance holes so that the bolt fasteners can be used to bring the plate members together into a cooperating clamping relationship. In that regard, the plate members are preferably disposed in a substantially parallel relationship so that, as they are brought together using the bolt fasteners, the subject portable tie-down device can be attached to the structural flange area formed around the perimeter of a pickup truck bed using a frictional interference-type connection.
Preferably, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, an outer plate member is substantially xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped in cross section and includes a vertical planar main body portion having a flat inner face surface that is adapted to engage an associated downwardly projecting lip portion of the structural flange in the pickup truck bed. Outer edges of the main body portion carry at least one, but preferably two, integral eyelets or hooks for connection of the subject apparatus to cargo straps or the like. Preferably, the eyelets are embossed to provide strength at the eyelet and to minimize sharp edges that may cut into cargo ropes or straps. The upper edge of the main body portion includes at least one outwardly projecting horizontal support flange adapted to engage the top rail portion of the pickup bed structural flange. The support flange enables the subject device to be loosely connected to the pickup truck bed structural flange prior to its more secured clamped-on position.
The inner or backing plate member includes a substantially planar main body portion. The lower portion of the backing plate member engages the opposite lower lip inner surface of the outer plate member. The upper portion of the backing plate member is adapted to clamp the structural flange of the pickup truck bed between the backing plate member and the main body portion.
In an alternative embodiment, the backing plate member carries an inwardly projecting foot member adapted to engage the opposite flat inner face surface of the outer plate member. In addition, in the alternative embodiment, a resilient strip of high friction material is carried on the flat outer face surface along the upper area of the backing plate member. The friction material is adapted to abut against the back face of the lip portion of the associated structural truck bed flange.
A set of threaded holes on the backing plate member and a corresponding set of clearance holes on the outer plate member enable a set of bolt fasteners to be used to bring the cooperating clamping plate members of the subject portable tie-down apparatus into their cooperative clamping position onto the associated structural flange of a pickup truck bed. As the bolts are tightened, the lower portion of the backing plate member first contacts the flat inner face surface of the outer plate member. Thereafter, further tightening of the bolt fasteners causes the backing plate member to pivot, urging the upper portion of the backing plate member into engagement behind the lip area of the structural flange of the pickup truck bed. The lower portion of the backing plate member acts as a fulcrum to transmit the tension force generated in the bolt fasteners into a compressive force between the top portion of the backing plate member and the outer plate member, preferably with the structural flange of the pickup truck bed held pinched therebetween. In the alternative backing plate member embodiment, the foot member carried on the lower portion thereof acts as the fulcrum to convert the bolt fastener tension force into the preferred clamping force. The strip of high friction material ensures firm clamping to hold the tie-down apparatus firmly on the truck bed rail.
In a further alternative embodiment, the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shaped outer plate member extends upwardly beyond the vertical extent of the truck bed lip portion to provide a gap for receiving the outer perimeter engagement frame portion of an associated truck cap therein. A connection bolt member is threaded through the upper region of the outer plate member in an orientation to engage the perimeter frame of the cap onto the truck bed flange as the bolt is tightened. The outer plate member selectively carries a connection tie down member such as an eyelet, hook, or the like.
One primary advantage of the subject invention is that a tie-down type connector is provided that can be used substantially anywhere along the perimeter of a pickup truck bed.
Another advantage of the present invention is that, in an alternative embodiment, a low profile portable tie-down type connector is provided that can be used together with tonneau covers, truck caps, or the like.
Other benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the subject application.